Bio

BIO [Abridged]

Ryan Stout is a well-crafted and seasoned comedian who has performed all over the world. A regular guest on Chelsea Lately, Ryan has also appeared on CONAN, HBO’s Funny as Hell, Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham, and his own half-hour special: Comedy Central Presents… Ryan Stout. His debut comedy album, Touché, was released by Comedy Central Records and reached #7 on the iTunes comedy charts. While still in college, Stout was already performing over 300 shows per year when, at age 22, he won the Boston International Comedy Festival’s stand-up comedy competition. He went on to perform at HBO’s The Comedy Festival in Las Vegas, HBO’s U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, the prestigious Just For Laughs International Comedy Festival in Montreal, and the very hip SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. Within six months of moving to Los Angeles, he booked his first pilot, hosting a game show for MTV. That one job established him as a go-to host for any occasion and over the next few years MTV booked Ryan to host nearly 50 projects, including pilots, specials, and episodes of random television. He even hosted the iconic MTV Spring Break. In 2013, Ryan signed on with AXS TV to host the network’s one-hour flagship show, AXS Live. Ryan turned out to be the 21st and final host of AXS Live, presenting more episodes than any of his forebears and doubling– yeah, DOUBLING– the show’s ratings. When the program was eventually cancelled, the experience was like déjà vu. Just like his MTV days, AXS TV took full advantage of Ryan’s hosting capabilities, placing him at the helm of an assortment of programing: AXS TV’s New Year’s Bash, the 2014 Grammy Prediction Special, “best of” episodes of Gotham Comedy Live, and LIVE coverage of all the biggest parties in New York City leading up to Super Bowl XLVIII on AXS TV’s Super Party. And for three seasons he starred in AXS TV’s talking head comedy series, MOCKpocalypse. Currently, Ryan Stout can be seen on Fameless, the prank show from David Spade and TruTV, which is airing all new episodes right now. On January 27, 2016, Ryan appeared as a guest on Comedy Central’s game show @Midnight where he emerged victorious and earned the crown of Funniest Person On the Internet For the Next 231⁄2 Hours. He was promptly dethroned the next night.

QUOTES

“Ryan Stout, a straight-arrow-looking kind of guy, shocks the crowd into laughter with his inventive interplay between innocence and a jarringly twisted point of view. He goes from loony to weirdly logical. With him, it’s more than clever writing; his comedy is based on clear and clever thinking.”

— Ben Fong-Torres, “almost famous” journalist

“Ryan Stout is a friend of mine. I know him to be a very funny, smart, and talented comedian. Please do not use this quote against him. … How’s that? You can punch it up some more if you want, You Bastard.”

— Bob Saget, Comedian/Actor/Writer/Director/Producer/Meat Slicer

“[Ryan’s] one of my favorite up and coming young comics; very talented, very funny, and very professional.”

— Molly Schminke, Talent Coordinator for The Punch Line Comedy Club(s), San Francisco and Sacramento, California

“Reminds me of an older, balder, less attractive me.”

— David Feldman, Comedian

“I hope he thanks me when he wins his first Emmy.”

— Blythe Cappello, Vice President of Talent Development and Casting at E! Entertainment Television

“Ryan is a true triple threat– He sings, he dances, and he acts. Wait, that’s Hugh Jackman. But, Ryan is one of the most gifted pieces of talent I’ve had the pleasure to working with. Smart, self-deprecating, a fast learner, and relatively cheap. What more could a network executive ask for?”

— Drew Tappon, Vice President of Non-fiction and Alternative Programming for A&E Network

“Myself and a group of other comics and producers were in the back of the room and we all laughed ’til it hurt. I don’t know how many jokes Ryan told in the course of his set, but it just never stopped, well written jokes from top to bottom (NO FILLER). I would highly recommend this act to anyone interested in stand-up comedy done the way it should be.”

— Todd Paul, Talent Coordinator for Off Kilter Productions

“Ryan Stout was one of the funniest [comedians] this city has seen in a long time. With a sarcastic, laid-back routine full of mean-spirited stories, Stout’s sick humor was perfect…insulting everyone from little people to the homeless to the Special Olympics, and never cursing through it all.”

— Press of Atlantic City

“…a deceptively funny act. Just on the edge of tasteless, and sometimes over, he brought it around with high-minded segues and a high-concept twist. He’s got polish, not just to his timing and delivery, but to his professional deference.”

— SFist, San Francisco Exposition Analysts

BIOGRAPHY [Extended]

In general, Ryan Stout loves to explore morally repugnant subject matter with smart and sterile objectivity. His exaggerated honesty, delightful insincerity, and cute self-righteousness sell his wickedly witty material. No matter what the topic, this suit clad comic appeals to everyone’s sense of logic. And to assure his brand of “offensive humor” stays on an intellectual level, he tries to keep swear words out of his act. Oh, he’ll talk about rape and abortion, but it won’t be filthy.

Ryan Stout is the winner of the Boston International Comedy Festival’s stand-up comedy competition (2005). In addition, he was a featured performer at HBO’s The Comedy Festival in Las Vegas (2005) and at HBO’s U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, CO (2006). Soon after his festival appearances, he hosted two game show pilots for MTV, I.Q. (2007) and Singled Out (2007). He performed stand-up on Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham (2007) and made several appearances on the nationally syndicated radio program The Bob&Tom Show.

Stout settled-in to his television career by reviewing, re-capping, and capping-on several of MTV’s popular reality shows. As the host of the network’s “aftershow” series A Shot at Love: The Hangover (2007/2008) and More Amore (2008), he told jokes, performed in short sketches, and interviewed reality show contestants. Establishing himself as a go-to host for any event, the network called on Stout to host television specials, including MTV’s Most Valuable Players (2008) and, the iconic, MTV Spring Break ‘08 (2008). Another MTV game show pilot called Pop-a-razzi! (2008) followed, along with a position hosting a series called MTV’s Ranked (2008).

In the midst of all his television work he still managed to continue doing stand-up all over the United States and performed at the prestigious Just For Laughs International Comedy Festival (2008) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The following year brought a few more MTV jobs, hosting reunion episodes of reality shows and, as you might’ve guessed, yet another game show pilot. That year also brought appearances on WGN’s television version of the The Bob & Tom Show (2009) and regular appearances on E! Entertainment’s Chelsea Lately (2009 – present). And, by year’s end, he filmed his very own Comedy Central Presents… half-hour stand-up special, which premiered in 2010.

In 2011, Ryan’s half-hour special was voted by viewers as one of the top ten best in Comedy Central’s Stand-up Showdown. And a few months later, he made his late-night stand-up debut on a television program called CONAN (2011). That Fall, Ryan was selected to host a new reality-show-game-show-dating-show for CBS Syndicated. He shot a pilot and patiently waited to hear if it would be picked up for series. Then, in December 2011, his debut comedy album, Touché, was released by Comedy Central Records and reached #7 on the iTunes comedy charts.

With his new album getting solid reviews and still making regular appearances on Chelsea Lately, Ryan continued to headline comedy clubs all over the globe. By early 2012, he learned that his CBS pilot would not be green-lit for series. No matter, though. A few months later, he filmed a new pilot for MSN, and, then, he patiently waited to hear if that would be picked up for series. It didn’t get picked up either.

Finally, in 2013, Ryan was able to break away from his grueling tour-schedule when, soon after a return engagement at Just For Laughs and a successful taping of HBO’s stand-up show Funny as Hell, he landed another television job. But, this time it would be more than just another pilot. He could be seen every Monday thru Thursday on AXS TV, hosting the network’s one-hour flagship show, AXS Live. Ryan turned out to be the 21st and final host of AXS Live, presenting more episodes than any of his forebears and doubling– yeah, DOUBLING– the show’s ratings. When the program was eventually cancelled, the experience was like déjà vu.

Just like his MTV days, AXS TV took full advantage of Ryan’s hosting capabilities, placing him at the helm of an assortment of 2014 programing: AXS TV’s New Year’s Bash, the 2014 Grammy Prediction Special, “best of” episodes of Gotham Comedy Live, and LIVE coverage of all the biggest parties in New York City leading up to Super Bowl XLVIII on AXS TV’s Super Party. And for three seasons he starred in AXS TV’s talking head comedy series, MOCKpocalypse.

On top of all his work at AXS TV, Ryan hosted a weekly show on the ever-so-popular, AOL-owned Mandatory.com, called Mandatory Viewing. The three-minute, click-able-content web series featured stories, gifs, vines, and pictures relevant to the internet each week. The show ran for thirty-two weeks and was one of the most popular pieces of content the company had ever produced.

As of January 2016, Ryan Stout can be seen on Fameless, the prank show from David Spade and TruTV, which is airing all new episodes right now. On January 27, Ryan appeared as a guest on Comedy Central’s game show @Midnight where he emerged victorious and earned the crown of Funniest Person On the Internet For the Next 231⁄2 Hours. He was promptly dethroned the next night.